Efficient thermoelectric power generation

Abstract

A system and method for efficient thermoelectric power generation by combining natural gas as a thermal source with emitters, such as Silicon Carbide, highly-doped Silicon Carbide semiconductor material as cells, harvesting of electric power through in situ formation of Graphene Carbon, and semiconductor materials. The system is can yield orders of magnitude greater power efficiency over thermoelectric power generation units used in space travel, by practicing the invention, natural gas, such as the 288.7 billion cubic currently wasted by the environmental damaging practice of flaring off, can be converted into useful electricity for transport over low-cost transmission line infrastructure rather than possible future high-cost pipelines. Also, by practicing the invention, households can be provided with standby power, power during natural disasters, such as hurricanes, by converting available natural or propane gas rather relying on generators with single digit efficiency.

What is claimed as deserving the protection of Letters Patent is: 
     
         1 . A system and method for highly efficient thermoelectric power generation yielding an efficiency of up to 75% and a process for manufacturing such systems by: 1) constructing cells with large length to narrow thickness ratios, such as approaching a 3000:1 aspect ratio; 2) supplying energy incident on the cells by a combustion of natural gas equal to the Earth's opacity spectrum that is filtered out and not available to terrestrial solar cells; 3) using hexagonal crystalline Silicon Carbide semiconductor materials as emitters of a spectrum of energy to create a 1:1 spectral matching as the energy is in turn incident on Silicon Carbide semiconductor material as cells; 4) providing heavy doped cells constructed from the subset of Silicon Carbide crystalline poly types that are hexagonal and arranged in an alternating “p” and “n” configuration; and 5) forming conductive surfaces on the anode hot surface and the cathode cold surface of the Silicon Carbide material cells by sublimation of the silicon to form the hexagonal crystalline carbon, Graphene, with Superconductive conductivity at room temperature at a chirality of 30 degrees, to connect multiple devices in series and in parallel cells that are in turn connected to a terminal to form a power supply. 
     
     
         2 . The system, method, and process of  claim 1  wherein the Silicon Carbide cells comprise 16 strips cut to form narrow cells from a 0.01-inch thick wafer and long cells with a 3-inch length to achieve a 1:3,000 aspect ratio. 
     
     
         3 . The system, method, and process of  claim 1  wherein the spectrum incident on the cells, constructed from Silicon Carbide of the same poly type as the emitter, is the infrared spectrum produced by heating of the emitter, to produce congruity of the emission and incident energy spectrums. 
     
     
         4 . The system, method, and process of  claim 1  wherein the cells are constructed from the subset of Silicon Carbide semiconductor that is crystalline of one of the poly-types that are hexagonal, 2H, 4H, 6H, 8H or 10H and preferably 4H and 6H arranged in an alternating “p” and “n” configuration, Silicon carbide as a semiconductor, which has been heavily doped: p-type by beryllium, boron, aluminum, or gallium and n-type by nitrogen or phosphorus. 
     
     
         5 . The system, method, and process of  claim 1  wherein conductive surfaces are formed on the anode hot surface, located adjacent to the flame at the bottom of the device, where p-type and n-type cells are electrically connected in parallel, and on the cathode cold surface, located at the top of the device, where p-type and n-type cells are each independently electrically connected in series, are hexagonal crystalline carbon, Graphene, formed by sublimation of the Silicon from Silicon Carbide that exhibits superconductive conductivity at room temperature at a chirality of 30 degrees allowing multiple devices to be electrically connected in series and in parallel cells that are in turn connected to a terminal to form a power supply.